Just about everyone has had to suffer through a power failure. Whether the outage was caused by a man-made event such as equipment failure, or as the result of a natural disaster such as a storm, the results are the same. While flashlights and other battery operated tools help to keep households running, and provide for emergency needs, one need which has gone unfulfilled is that of cooling. Many people, especially the elderly, cannot function, or even survive in periods of high heat. Standard cooling devices such as fans and air conditioners are non-operational during power failures, and there has been no acceptable battery operated substitute to date. These same cooling problems occur when camping, at outdoor events, or virtually any location where power is not available. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which one can be kept cool, without reliance on conventional electrically powered cooling devices.